Are slow motion photo booths the next big thing in wedding photography?

In a highly saturated market, wedding photographers need to constantly find new ways to differentiate themselves from their competition. Could slow motion photo booths be the next big way to set yourself apart? Personally, I think it looks like a blast (and something I might actually want to look at ten years after the wedding):

The reel above was shot by Seattle-based video production group Super Frog Saves Tokyo using a RED Epic camera, a 18-50mm RED lens, and four Konova 900 LED lights. The guests stood in front of a white backdrop and also had props to play with. The production team told PetaPixel that everything was shot at 160 frames per second. So did guests dig it? “It was a wedding with an open bar. The video is edited (mostly) chronologically so you can see people get progressively less inhibited as the night went on,” says SFST. The video has since been played over 93,000 times.

Facebook partners with Shutterstock to offer free photos for ads

Last week Facebook and Shutterstock announced a partnership that will bring millions of images from the Shutterstock library to Facebook ad creators – at no cost. Businesses will be able to search and choose from images using Shutterstock’s API integrated with Facebook. “This integration is especially important for small and medium-sized businesses who may not have the time or resources to acquire creative images for their marketing initiatives,” said Blake Williams, Product Manager for Facebook Ad Creation. Good for businesses, bad for photographers? (via PhotoArchiveNews.com)

ImageBrief - the company that lets clients put out briefs for photographers to fulfill – released an infographic titled “Who Shot The Photographer?” with the byline, “Industry forces that could spell the extinction of the professional photographer”. The infographic focuses on stock photographers and include stats like “the sale of an average photo earns Shutterstock $2.23 in revenue, leaving little for the photographer.” It also says that the median income from selling microstock in 2012 was $4,000 per year.

Middle Eastern women photographers use their camera to tell their stories

The Middle East remains a place mainly dominated by men in both society and culture. But despite the limitations, women photographers have been at the forefront of the community in Iran and the Arab world. “She Who Tells a Story” opens at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston this week, and features 12 photographers from the Middle East – all of whom are women. Each photographer explores a different medium, subject, or theme, such as exploring the meaning of the veil. “Though these photographers challenge stereotypes,” writes curator Kristen Gresh in an intro the exhibit, “the choice to unite them as a group has been seen by some, ironically, as confirming a stereotype.” (via Lens blog)

Photo by Gohar Dashti

Photo by Shirin Neshat

Photos by Boushra Almutawakel

Photo book project on the endemic problem of military rape in the U.S.

While on assignment in New York City, photojournalist Francois Pesant was documenting the experience of female war veterans returning to civilian life. Two of the first four women he met said that they had been raped in Iraq. Francois was shocked, and continued researching the issue over the last year. The project has since been published in M – Le Magazine du Monde and featured by Photo District News, and now he’s hoping to fund a book: “I want the book to be a testimony to that change and a part of it, through the dialogue it will initiate,” says Francois. You can learn more about the project and donate to his indiegogo campaign here.